1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a driving-force transmitting structure used in an apparatus for automatically applying a seat belt around an occupant after he has seated, the driving-force transmitting structure being adapted for transmitting the driving force of a driving means to the webbing.
2. Related Art Statement
A type of automatic seat belt apparatus has been proposed which is capable of automatically applying a webbing around an occupant or releasing it from the occupant.
This type of apparatus is constructed in such a manner that one end of a webbing is wound up by a winding device disposed at the center of the vehicle, and the other end of the webbing is in engagement with a slider which can slide toward the front or rear of the vehicle while being guided by a guide rail disposed in the vicinity of one side of the roof of the vehicle, enabling the webbing to be applied or released by moving the slider. The driving force of a driving means is transmitted to the slider via a wire rope which can transmit a tensile force or compressive force.
This transmitting structure is constructed in such a manner that, as shown in FIG. 7, a slide piece 12 which is attached to an end of a wire rope 10 is engaged with a cutout recess 14A formed in a head portion of a slider 14 in the form of a plate.
However, in this transmitting structure, a dimension A shown in FIG. 7 is reduced by the provision of the cut-out recess 14A in the slider 14, and, therefore, the sectional area at a section D indicated in FIG. 7 is small, resulting in a reduction in the strength of the slider. To improve this strength, the sectional area at the section D may be increased by increasing the dimension A shown in FIG. 7. However, this means an increase in the dimension B shown in FIG. 7 and, hence, the overall size or length of the slider (dimension C shown in FIG. 7), resulting in an increase in the extent to which the slider projects inside the passenger accommodation of the vehicle.